Ford mocked but not missed at Pride

The Toronto Star:

Mayor Rob Ford rejected Sunday’s Pride parade in favour of a Muskoka weekend. Parade revellers rejected him back — some with the bitterness of a spurned suitor, but many with the carefree air of a day on the dock.

They thought he should have marched. They were insulted he didn’t. But they weren’t going to let him distract them from the cheering and dancing and ogling and water-gun-squirting that dominated a largely joyous celebration.

Fifteen councillors marched — a record, according to Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam. But almost all of them were members of council’s left-leaning minority. Of Ford’s allies, only Michael Thompson, Cesar Palacio and Gary Crawford were spotted.

Ford decided to avoid the parade despite a two-week lobbying effort that involved a plea from Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke, whose late son Brendan was gay. A weary Burke marched in the parade, wearing a jersey with his son’s name on the back, less than three hours after a 25-hour journey back from Kandahar, where he spent Canada Day with soldiers.

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